scott kirkpatrick
Well-known member
I have Tim Isaac's M-coder kit to add bar codes to lenses that I haven't got a mount for or don't want to spare the time to send them back to Leica. It works, but is fussy. I was completely stumped recently in coding a used 28/2.0 Summicron-ASPH. Its code is 011010, which is a bit tricky. The pen that came with the kit has dried out, so i used a mix of Sharpie marker and Chinese pen, refreshed with rubbing alcohol to make marks (the Chinese pen, when it works, gives a darker line). My first try produced a WATE (code 010000). Widening the first bar a bit got me a 21/2.8 ASPH. (That's 011000.) One more try produced a classic 90mm Elmarit 2.8(ii). (The code for that is 000100 -- no idea why it worked.) Several other attempts were not recognized, probably because they were read as something that was not consistent with the 28/90 mm mount tab on my lens.
Finally, I got smart. I put the M-Coder down on a coded Leica lens and discovered that the little marks were about one-third of a bar off to the left! This told me the corrections to make when filling the lines in, and I now have a recognizable 28/2.0 ASPH.
scott
Finally, I got smart. I put the M-Coder down on a coded Leica lens and discovered that the little marks were about one-third of a bar off to the left! This told me the corrections to make when filling the lines in, and I now have a recognizable 28/2.0 ASPH.
scott